Tilling Illustration 12

Second Weeding

Once we moved in teams to weed the sprouts,
Yet I still worry that the old weeds will return to life. original: xiucao, "old weeds" or "persistent grass," referring to weeds that were not fully eradicated during the first pass.
Along the field ridges, food is brought back and forth;
One sees the toil and the devotion of the farmer’s wife and children.

The level fields are lush and green; Labor continues through the year’s weeding. In tending the sprouts, thinning is the rule; Any plant not of our seed must be diligently removed. Straw hats grow heavy as they gather the morning mist; Light hoes seem to brush against the clouds. When the sun is high, the wife busily brings the midday meal, While her young child playfully tugs at her skirt.

Carrying jars of drink, the wife walks along the high embankment;
Weeds spring up most easily at the edges of the rows.
They toil to weed again, and she brings food again;
Moving is the old farmer’s anxious hope for the harvest. original: wang nian qing, the "sentiment of looking forward to the year," reflecting the farmer's emotional and physical investment in the crop's success.

Second Weeding Tilling the fields is bitter work, wearing down the weeding-hoe; Sweat drips into the roots of the grain, yet the farmer is unaware. This line alludes to a famous poem by Li Shen (Tang Dynasty): "Who knows that on the dining plate, every single grain comes from hard toil?" This is the most diligent and painful time for the farm family, As the wife follows her husband to support their shared life. Painted by your servant, Jiao Bingzhen Jiao Bingzhen was a high-ranking court astronomer and painter known for introducing Western-style perspective to the Qing court.